Wet products such as wet wipes have many applications. They may be used with small children and infants when changing diapers, they may be used for household cleaning tasks, they may be used for cleaning hands, they may be used as a bath tissue, they may be used as by a caregiver to clean a disabled or incontinent adult, or they may be used in and for a whole host of other applications, where it is advantageous to have a wipe or towel that has some wetness or moisture in it.
Wet wipes have been traditionally dispensed in sheet form from a tub like container with a hinged lid on the top. The lid is opened and individual or singularized sheets of the wipes are removed. Another type of container that has been used for wet wipes provides a roll of wipes in which the wipes are pulled from the top of the container in a direction that is parallel to the axis of the roll. These wipes are pulled from the center of a hollow coreless roll that has perforated sheets. These containers generally have a snap top lid that is opened to expose a piece of the wipes that can then be pulled to remove the desired amount of wipes. Once pulled out the wipes can then be torn off, usually at a perforation, and the lid closed.
Wet wipes can be any wipe, towel, tissue or sheet like product including natural fibers, synthetic fibers, synthetic material and combinations thereof, that is wet or moist or becomes wet prior to use. Wet wipes may be dispersible when in contact with water or may be non-dispersible. Examples of wet wipes are disclosed in application Ser. Nos. 09/564,449; 09/564,213; 09/565,125; 09/564,837; 09/564,939; 09/564,531; 09/564,268; 09/564,424; 09/564,780; 09/564,212; 09/565,623 all filed May 4, 2000, and application Ser. No. 09/223,999 entitled Ion-Sensitive Hard Water Dispersible Polymers And Applications Therefore, filed Dec. 31, 1998, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. Embodiments of dispensers are described in U.S. application Ser. No. 09/659,307, entitled xe2x80x9cWET WIPESxe2x80x9d filed Sep. 12, 2000, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The dispensing of a plurality of wet wipes, and particularly a perforated roll, works better if particular dispensing characteristics are present. For example, this can be due, at least in part, to the physical properties of the plurality of wipes. As another example, this can be due, at least in part, to the dispenser container from which the wipes are dispensed and properties thereof.
In response to a desire to enhance the dispensing of a plurality of wipes, for example, particular dispensing characteristics have been discovered and quantified. The purposes and features of the present invention will be set forth in and are apparent from the description that follows, as well as will be learned by practice of the invention. Additional features of the invention will be realized and attained by the product and processes particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof, as well as from the appended drawings.
In an aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for dispensing a plurality of perforated wipes, the plurality of perforated wipes having a perforation detach strength characteristic. The system includes a dispenser having a dispensing force characteristic and including a sealable chamber and the chamber is configured to retain the plurality of perforated wipes therein. A dispensing opening is in communication with the chamber and the opening is adapted to dispense wipes from the plurality of perforated wipes through the opening and out of the dispenser. A wiper blade is positioned in the dispenser to engage at least a portion of the wipes as the wipes dispense through the opening. When dispensing, then, a ratio of the perforation detach strength characteristic to the dispensing force characteristic is greater than 1:1.
In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for dispensing a plurality of perforated wipes, the plurality of perforated wipes having a perforation detach strength characteristic. The system includes a dispenser having a dispensing force characteristic and including a sealable chamber and the chamber configured to retain the plurality of perforated wipes therein. A dispensing opening is in communication with the chamber and the opening is adapted to dispense wipes from the plurality of perforated wipes through the opening and out of the dispenser. A wiper blade is positioned in the dispenser to engage at least a portion of the wipes as the wipes dispense through the opening. When dispensing, the dispensing force characteristic is greater than 0 g/cm and less than about 75 g/cm.
In yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a roll of wipes dispensing system. The system includes a roll of perforated wipes having a perforation detach strength characteristic. The system further includes a dispenser having a dispensing force characteristic and including a sealable chamber. The roll of perforated wipes is retained within the chamber. A dispensing opening is in communication with the chamber, the opening adapted to dispense wipes from the roll of perforated wipes through the opening and out of the dispenser. A resilient wiper blade is positioned in the dispenser to engage at least a portion of the wipes as the wipes dispense through the opening. During dispensing, a ratio of the perforation detach strength characteristic to the dispensing force characteristic is greater than 1:1.
In still another aspect of the invention, there is provided a roll of wipes for use in a dispensing system. The roll of wipes includes a roll of perforated wipes having a perforation detach strength characteristic. The perforation detach strength characteristic is greater than 55 g/cm.
In still other aspects of the invention, there are provided desired and more desired ranges relating to characteristics of wipes and of dispenser and relating to particular structures of the dispenser.